Unfortunate Souls
by WanderingSpectre
Summary: It is a difficult thing to be 'good' when it's in your nature to be 'evil', it's even more difficult to fight your nature when you've spent more than 100 years succumbing to it. You are an unfortunate soul because of that, drowning in sins that you refuse to regret. But to be innocent is just as unfortunate, especially when your fate is in the hands of an original vampire. Kol/OC
1. Prologue

_All things truly wicked start from innocence._

_-Ernest Hemmingway_

* * *

_Prologue_

_Waking up with a throbbing head and pins and needles was never something Mara was fond of, it always left her wondering whether she'd finally decided to ransack her father's unlocked wine cellar and drown in the dizzying goodness her friends liked to call alcohol. Mara shook her feet, lazily staring at the fading nail polish that she'd applied over three weeks ago. There were a few chips here and there, but it was easy to overlook the imperfections since her nails had already succumbed to staining._

_'Nope, not hung over...I think.' She thought to herself, wriggling her toes curiously as she yawned quietly. The room didn't seem to be spinning so it was one good indication that she must have been a good girl before crashing into bed._

_"So good to be home." She whispers, settling back into the comforts of the pillows and outstretching her arm to feel for her favourite pillow. After a few minutes of finding no peace, Mara turned over and opened her eyes, expecting to see the swirling lavender and fuchsia sky that she'd painted on her ceiling a few years back. But it wasn't there, nope. _

_Above her was a smooth ebony coloured surface accompanied by an intricate crystal accented chandelier that dangled delicately over eight to nine feet. She scrambled up, realizing that she'd still been wearing the gold lame gown that she purchased a few days back; it shimmered softly against the sheen of sunlight that slipped past the dark velvet drapes behind her. Leaning over the bed to search for her shoes, Mara cursed aloud to see that one of them had been broken._

_Mara hurried over to the drapes, peering out the window to only be greeted by pine trees and either a sunrise or sunset; she was never really good at telling the two apart._

_"I am _not_ home. Oh God I am _not _home." She whispers to herself, covering her mouth nervously to hold back a sob. Uncle Tobias was going to kill her. Mara covered her ears, feeling the blood rushing to her cheeks and neck as she stared out at the window. What was she going to do? Where was she? How'd she even get here? She looked down at her dress, biting back a scream at the sight of dried blood on it. Was this her blood or another person's?_

_"Sorry to disappoint you darling, but yes—you aren't home." Mara turned around and found her breath hitch in her throat; it was the boy—well, man from last night, and she was surely in deep trouble. She backed away, memories from the previous night suddenly returning to her after those long agonizing minutes of being a completely clueless dimwit._

_"At least, not in _yours_." There was a tone of amusement in his voice as he said this, which made Mara very uncomfortable. She remembered what he did last night, and she didn't think very highly of him for it. _

_She ran her fingers along the nape of her neck, feeling a large scab forming over the place he'd bitten her. _

_For a moment the predator didn't move, his dark eyes dancing as he looked at her; it was almost possessive, manic. _

* * *

hope you enjoyed the intro! reviews are much appreciated.


	2. Chapter One

_Almost every sinful action ever committed can be traced back to a selfish motive. _

_It is a trait we hate in other people but justify in ourselves. _

_- Stephen Kendrick _

* * *

One

Tugging at the straps of her dress, Mara pursed her lips, looking down at the envelope in her hands. There was no turning back now, not when she'd technically stolen someone's Porsche. She watched cars line up along the driveway of the Mikaelson mansion, tapping her fingers impatiently against the leather of the steering wheel; hopefully her plans were going to work tonight, the last thing she needed right now was for the townspeople to figure out that she was crashing a party and was using a stolen car to attend it.

She glanced at her watch every now and then, hopeful that she hadn't already missed the welcoming to the party. Mara parked the car, careful not to stumble on her dress as she made her way towards the extravagant home. Her lips parted slightly, eyes tracing every stone, pillar and window that the mansion was composed of.

It was a magnificent structure, somewhat similar in design to the mansions in the Regency Era with a little modern twist to it that evoked a more timeless look. Whoever the architect was, he deserved quite a round of applause because the mansion was a real work of art.

Mara shook her head, continuing towards the mansion. Noticing that there were no guards or bouncers to control the fluctuation of guests, she sighed with relief, hurrying towards a couple who walked ahead of her to appear as if she wasn't arriving on her own. She caught up with them, falling behind them by a step or two so they wouldn't be suspicious. Doing natural things like fidgeting and looking into her clutch helped keep her distracted enough as she made her way to the entrance doors, but suddenly it didn't seem to do any good for her after about 2 minutes. The lights were bright, momentarily disorienting the girl when she step foot inside.

Mara blinked her eyes a few times, adjusting to the environment around her; she tucked stray hair behind her ears, studying the ballroom with awe. It was gorgeous.

"This is my chance." She muttered under her breath, her grip over the clutch growing tighter each moment her eyes flickered from one side of the room to the other.

The noise surrounding her was a soft hum composed of small talk among the guests and gentle laughter that echoed throughout the room, Mara felt her ears prick up at the mention of her uncle's name, urging her to begin Phase 2 of her plans.

...

The party was dreary to say the least; Kol never really liked being surrounded by humans unless he was actually going to get the chance to have them as his next meal, yet here he was pretending to actually share one with them. Champagne, he'd definitely stick to that. After a near decade of being cooped up in that coffin Klaus stuffed him in, Kol had nearly forgotten the taste of sweet blood against his tongue and in the process forgot the taste of his less favoured food, human food.

He was not in such a bad mood yet to actually attempt to feast on one of his guests, but he was growing restless and bored, which would eventually prompt him to try and do something to entertain himself—most of the time, it was killing.

He strolled around the mansion, studying the humans of Mystic Falls from the spiral staircases that his brother had so skilfully designed. His fingers slid along the smooth wood of the stairs, producing a soundless white noise that only he and his siblings would be capable of hearing. Eyes transferring from guest to guest, he thinks of the names of the Council members of Mystic Falls that he is expected to respect; it was always good to be prepared to put one self's best foot forward, something he'd picked up from Elijah recently, although he faltered from time to time due to his, let's say—_cheeky_ tendencies.

Conversations were never difficult to eavesdrop on, but Kol couldn't bring himself to stoop down to that kind of entertainment, gossiping was never something he was ever particularly inclined to. He sees the Salvatore brothers and scowls, somehow Klaus always managed to sire the most irritating people, which actually explains a lot if you think about it. Kol decides not to waste his time on them and that girl Elena who Rebekah so regularly calls a pain in the arse, looking for his sister instead.

The irritation rubbed against the back of his head deliberately, she'd said they'd meet up to kill that friend of the Gilbert girl yet here he was looking for Rebekah and that boy toy of hers.

Perhaps she decided to shag him after all before killing him.

Kol stopped his wandering and shook his head in irritation, deciding not to burden himself with the thought of Rebekah while she was missing. If he was going to remain alone in this dreary party then he would at least feign enjoyment if he couldn't literally enjoy the party his mother had insisted on throwing on behalf of the family. Who knows, maybe he'd find the perfect meal after all of this. Gradually he found himself conversing with other humans, occasionally asking them about themselves to see their place in the Mystic Falls society. Usually he didn't care who it was that he killed and fed from, but with his mother around he might as well be as discreet and clean about it as possible. He needed someone who wouldn't be missed, preferably a woman simply because their blood always tasted better to him since they drank less and liked putting flavoured products on themselves, making them all the more enjoyable to feed off.

He took another glass of champagne from Klaus' compelled house help, leisurely sipping from the drink every minute or so. The Mystic Falls women were actually attractive, but some of the dresses they wore were horrid, so he was slightly put off by their appalling attires. Klaus spent his time entertaining a feisty flaxen haired girl, and by the looks of it he wasn't doing very well, which made Kol grin happily. Finn and their mother were nowhere to be seen, which prompted Kol to wonder where they were, but brushed it off when he realized that Rebekah was still missing. Must've been busy entertaining people in different parts of the Mansion. He avoided conversing with Elijah, slightly annoyed with his eldest brother for no real reason. In general, Kol was irritable and never actually had a reasonable explanation for it.

Someone pushed past him gently, a cold hand brushing against his for the tiniest millisecond. Kol turned, initially expecting to see a little boy walking away, only to be surprised that the little boy was actually a young woman. His eyes scrutinised her form, from her extremely short hair to her small frame and soft curves. She turned, speaking to a woman that he recalled to be Carol Lockwood. In spite of the ghastly unfeminine cut of her dark hair, she managed to pull it off without looking too much like an asylum patient, which was as close to a compliment as it'd get coming from Kol. She was strange, not like any of the vampires present in the Ball, because she was so visibly human; he could hear her heart pounding quickly against her chest and none of her mannerisms gave off that of a gifted being such as himself. Her fingers fidgeted too much, and when she walked she tried to mask her anxiety with confidence, nothing like a vampire—all too human...yet there was just one thing that was making her so peculiar from the rest.

"_I need you to tell me, tell me what my uncle's business in this town is with the Founder's Council._" He hears her whisper to Carol, leaning in closer to the woman with a pleading look in her eyes. Well that was a rather brainless question to ask someone in a mansion of vampires.

In spite of his absence in Mystic Falls, Kol wasn't ignorant enough to be unaware of the recent arrival of an ex-vampire hunter, who the girl must have been referring to when she called him uncle. The man was a priest as far as he knew, but the man's presence didn't interest him very much, it was the girl's sudden interest in it that did.

Clearly a newcomer here, there's was no mistake; her body language with the other guests was very unsure, she wasn't familiar with any of them. The strangest thing about her question was that she was actually getting an answer out of it.

"_He's come to aid the Council with the latest problem_."

"_What's that?_"

"_The vampires._" Kol clenched his jaws, suddenly furious with this new revelation. He usually didn't care about the business that happened here, but to be in Klaus' home and speak of them in a very ill manner and actually discuss the Council's latest plan was just downright rude and infuriating. Why was this woman speaking? Wasn't she bound by the oaths of the Council?

"_I'm sorry what?_" the girl was incredulous, clearly beginning to become irritated and impatient.

Without clearly thinking it through, Kol stepped into their conversation, calling on the name of Mystic Falls' newest mayor. It was a spur of the moment decision, but he didn't really like the idea of their conversation developing into anything else while in the Mikaelson mansion.

"Mrs. Lockwood, so good to see you're enjoying the party." He says, putting on a charming smile for the woman to respond positively to, it is always difficult to be rude to someone who is so kind to you after all, except for Kol of course.

"The drinks are fantastic, I must have had five glasses by now." She replies with her prize winning smile, but there is a glint of hesitation in her eyes, which is not missed by the vampire. When it came to dealing with humans, hesitation was never far from fear.

"And who might this be? I really must apologize; you see I am not familiar with the people here yet, just arrived a few days ago." The girl's mouth twitches upward, seemingly humoured by what he said. She shakes her head as if to disagree with him, her slim neck suddenly becoming a presence he couldn't ignore; Kol was careful not to stare at it too long, knowing very well that it would easily catch the Mayor's attention. But the woman had slipped away from the conversation, which didn't seem to bother the vampire; it meant that he wouldn't need to be as careful as he thought.

"I'm actually not from here, so I wouldn't expect you to know my name in the first place." She replied timidly with a small smile, her eyes twinkle a bit as she looks up at him, which is actually a bit pleasant to see occasionally when you're surrounded by a family the mostly exchanges glares rather than smiles and kind words. Not that he particularly cared.

"Pleasure to meet you, Kol Mikaelson." He introduces himself, leaning in slightly closer to the young girl before taking her small hand, gently pressing his lips to the skin of her knuckles. They are not soft or silky, but cold, allowing Kol to infer that she was more nervous than she looked. Her large eyes slightly widen, and he can hear the sudden skipping of her heartbeat—he laughs a bit under his breath, letting go of her so as not to give her a sudden heart attack; clearly a simple gesture of charm such as a kiss on the hand was no longer a common exchange between men and women at this time. Pity.

"Mara Hale." She says, by the sound of her voice her throat had gone dry, fear? Maybe, why not? He quite liked the idea of unravelling this one; she looked like some fun to play with, especially with that look on her face that he couldn't quite decide whether it was one of fear or attraction. Maybe both, either way it would still come down to him having his fun and getting his way. Kol straightened up, clearing his throat and leaning in towards the girl again, "Hm. Sounds rather familiar doesn't it?" she takes a step back and smiles uncomfortably, cautious with her movement. The music shifts to a slower melody and an octave lower, prompting the dancing guests to change the pace of their movement.

Normally Kol wasn't fond of dancing; it was bad enough that Elijah had started the ball off with that awful dance they used to do when they were much younger, and his partner was rather snobbish, which put him off from considering her as his meal. But this was a different girl, and he wasn't going to let her slip away so easily. If things go well, chances are that they'll just get better later that night.

"May I have this dance?" he asks, ignoring the fact that he was initially irritated with the girl for not having anything to say in reply to his previous question. It could be overlooked, since she'd be paying him back as his meal.

She nods, allowing him to take her hand and pull her along towards the ballroom. Kol turns, placing his hand on her hips and adjusting his hold on her hand. The girl tenses a bit, obviously unaccustomed to being touched by anyone of the opposite sex. This would be great fun.

There is silence between them, indicating his dance partner's consciousness at his presence. The sound of shifting footsteps is constant, but the music of the violinists and pianist overpowers the irritating noise, distracting Kol with the elegant melody that directed every dancer in the room with every soothing note that was played. His dance partner is distracted, occasionally lowering her head to look at the floor so as not to step on his feet; she looks up, staring at his bowtie as a substitute for his eyes when her eyes are not busy shifting from place to place in the room, which makes him laugh at her ridiculous behaviour.

"Relax darling, there's no need to worry about the feet. I promise I won't step on them." He whispered with a smirk; _thump thump thump_ her heart goes, which makes the vampire chuckle as he slowly spins her around. She lets out a nervous laugh and shakes her head, beginning to respond to his attempt at diffusing the tension, "It's not my feet I'm worried about." Kol simply smiles in return, staring into her eyes in search of anything strange about her.

There it was—a strange glimmer in her eyes that he watched stirring deep inside. He pulls her slightly closer, hearing a slight hitch in her breath again at the sudden movement.

"So what brings you here to Mystic Falls?" he asks, his mind racing with different ideas and concepts; he'd seen that kind of look before, but there was no telling whether it was true or not. The girl looked harmless really, like he could break her in two like a toothpick, it didn't help that she looked as clueless in the ball as ever.

"I came to see my uncle, just a dear old friend of my mother's." She replied shortly, her tone nonchalant about the topic. But he hears her heart racing again, and her grip on his shoulder has loosened a tad bit. Kol's eyes narrowed, disbelieving of her explanation. "Touchy subject is it? Did you come with him to the Ball? I can imagine that he must've been delighted to see the daughter of his dear old friend." There is a hint of sarcasm in his voice, throwing his companion off guard.

"Excuse me?" she sounds taken aback, insulted actually. His dance partner looks conflicted on whether to abandon him on the ballroom floor at once or continue dancing, her eyes beginning to flicker elsewhere once again.

"Yes I did come with him to the Ball." The words stumble out through gritted teeth, Kol's eyebrows arch; she was lying, which wasn't very hard to decipher really. As soon as the song ends his companion pulls away, her hands clutching at the sides of her golden dress like they were the only things restraining her from choking him.

"It was nice dancing with you." she says quietly, walking hurriedly away without a curtsy or smile. Kol frowned, watching as she pushed through the crowd of guests and left the ballroom. Annoyed, he pushed through the crowd with a calm stride, his eyes darting from guest to guest in search of his new game.

So fidgety, how irritating really.

But she was his new target, and it only made the game all the more enjoyable and interesting. He keeps his distance from his pray; eyes narrowed and hands tucked in his pockets as he gingerly listened into her conversations once again. In a sense, he was eating his own words for eavesdropping on the girl when just earlier he'd considered the act to be a disagreeable and desperate one, but this was a game; the rules didn't apply anymore. Often he found himself conversing with the other guests again, helping himself to more champagne than he could admit just to keep himself busy and as discreet as possible.

Her voice was a whisper in the crowd that Kol constantly yearned to hear, it was filled with naivety and ignorance that he was beginning to grow fond of instead of irritated with. But it was that same question again, that foolish question one shouldn't be asking when one was in a Lion's den. It's all the same, most of all—they ended with her kindly insisting that they tell her. The result was the same though, nothing like Mayor Lockwood's answer, but Mayor Lockwood was nowhere to be seen and therefore out of the girl's reach. She was persistent in questioning the people, however avoided the topic of 'vampires' never escaped from her mouth, obviously reluctant and unsettled about the possibility. He'd be changing that later.

"_Kol, mother wishes for another toast_." His brother's voice is muffled in his head, and all he is capable of doing is absentmindedly taking the glass of champagne that he is offered.

Kol watched as she briskly made her way out to the terrace, leaning against the window pane as her form grew smaller and smaller. Five minutes, it takes him five minutes to decide whether to follow her or not. He places the glass down without even pressing his lips to it, stalking the mansion grounds carefully as he took his time on his short journey to reach his prey. Her breathing is steady, but the sound of her heartbeat is growing louder by the minute, filling the silence that hung about in the cold night air. The girl's form is so rigid, so still that she could only be thinking of conflicting ideas in her mind, no doubt about her precious uncle.

"Disappointed are we?" she turns around, her eyes wide and frightened at the sight of him. She hugs herself, slightly shivering at the touch of the gust of wind.

"What do you mean?" the question sounds more like a demand, but it humoured Kol to see the possibility that his prey had a backbone. Her fingers dig into the skin of her arms, forming crescent marks from her nails. Kol smiled, digging his hands into his pockets as he moved closer to the girl.

"It humours me how the human mind is so incapable of grasping the truth when it's already been neatly handed over to them."

...

He's speaking cryptically, which irritates Mara because he seems to be purposely doing it just to make her feel stupid. She doesn't like how he strides around with that arrogant look that mars his handsome face, or how his eyes narrow when he casts his eyes on her. The only thing she seemed to like about him was the fact that he'd cut short her conversation with Carol Lockwood, which was turning into a Dracula movie in her head. But now she was just tired, she was already considering the idea of leaving the Ball because no one actually knew what Tobias Rowan was doing back in Mystic Falls after a good nineteen years of being away from it.

"Um, can I be honest with you? I'd really, really appreciate it if I was left alone right now. No offense." The words escape from her mouth almost immediately, she needed to clear her head; being in the mansion with all those strangers, lying to them—was physically draining, and she couldn't explain why. There is an awkward silence between them that makes Mara fidget nervously again, fingers twisting and untwisting under pressure. He was literally contemplating whether to give her space or not.

"Stop that." His voice is a low growl, a command that frightens her enough to actually make her obey. It's unsettling to be around him, but the grin on his face has a magnetic pull that urges her to stay. Clearly he had no intention of being the one to leave, but his body language told her that neither would she. Mara turned her back to him, staring up at the sky with a tired look in her eyes, and for that little moment she wasn't so scared.

"Please leave me alone." She whispers under her breath, not forgetting how he'd brushed off her request earlier. He's next to her now, smiling up at the sky that they both gazed up at, "Now why would I do that darling?" he asks, intently look at her as runs his fingers through his neatly combed hair.

"This is my home after all. And I thought that _I'd_ be the one with the power to choose when I wished to be alone! For all you know, I'm just here to get away from the taxing guests and coincidentally you were here as well when I arrived." Mara blinks, tearing her gaze from the sky to see her host's face. It was difficult to read, blank. By his tone alone she couldn't tell whether he was irritated with her or humoured.

"Sorry..." she sighs out, apologizing out of courtesy rather than sincerity. He smiled, scratching the back of his head with a look of bemusement flickering in his dark eyes. Mara turned again, ready to stalk back to the mansion to give everything one last shot. Her hand was caught by the grasp of her companion, the grip slowly tightening as she tried to pull away from him.

"Kindly let go of my hand." she says through gritted teeth, her heart pounding painfully against her chest.

"I'd apologize to you as well, but I'd have to feel some remorse for what I'm about to do first." He says, his expression sharpening.

"Let go of me!" she exclaims, crushing her heel against his foot with as much power as possible. He smiles again, but it wasn't like his mischievous grins that made her grit her teeth with annoyance; it was a smile that struck fear and anxiety into your shivering bones, a cruel twisted smile.

"You're going to have to try harder than that darling. Don't scream." His eyes, something about them changed, his pupils had grown smaller. Fear brought her to her knees, shaking at his touch.

It all happened at once, Mara herself couldn't really comprehend how it happened; or rather, she didn't really want to admit what was happening. All she could feel was a sharp pain spreading all over her, and something warm and wet trickling down to her collarbones. His teeth was sinking deeper and deeper into her skin, like he was testing just how close he could get to killing her. She tried to scream, but nothing came out, all she could bring herself to do was whisper.

"Get off me." She says softly, her sight becoming more blurred by the second. He pulled her closer, the movement rough and forceful as his hand dug into her hip to support her body. Mara closed her eyes, trying to ignore the pain and push away from this—this _pervert_. She didn't deserve this, she didn't want to die. If anything, he was the one who deserved to feel her pain, everything.

"_Get off me!_" Mara pushed as hard as she could, feeling her body drop onto the ground as Kol Mikaelson let out a strange sound out of—pain? He held his head in his hands, slow to react as she gathered all the strength left in her to get up from the ground. Blood, she was covered in blood, _her blood_. Bile threatened to come out of her mouth, burning her throat she staggered away from her predator. She began to run, her breathing unsteady and heart beating painfully against her chest.

He was there, he was standing in front of her, clutching her arms so tightly it made her gasp out in pain. Mara tried to fight, kicking him wherever her legs could reach, but he just snarled with annoyance.

"I knew it, you had to be one." He laughed, it was a soft and manic one, the kind you'd think you would only ever hear in those slasher films people are so crazy about.

"Let g—"

"Sleep."

...

She was a handful this one, trying to kick him and make a run for it. Kol caught her as she fell into his arms, silent and still after being compelled. He shook his head, still recovering from the pain she'd inflicted on him. But why was she vulnerable to his manipulation? She wasn't supposed to be vulnerable to that.

Her blood still called to him, not entirely content with his intake. He cleaned the blood off himself, slightly put off by the fact that it'd be his last chance to drink from her. Kol bit his wrist, pressing it against her lips to speed up her recovery from the attack.

It explained everything—the mind stunning, getting answers out of Carol Lockwood without actual force, even the taste of her blood. It took him a while to fully realize it, but after exposing himself to those of her kind too many times to count, piecing everything together became easier. He pulled her closer, his lips brushing against the soft skin of her small jaws.

"You should've looked for Mayor Lockwood while you had the chance darling." He whispered, then slipping his arm under her leg and pulling her small body to his chest so he wouldn't have to drag her, blood accidentally staining the gold fabric.

There was silence as Kol sneaked his new companion into the guest room of his brother's home, and he found himself becoming terribly excited with what was to come.

Mara Hale was fun game, and she tasted a little bit better than he thought she would. But he wouldn't kill her like the other humans that he has, he couldn't. Because now they were going to play a new game, and he just loved the idea of unravelling her—her mind, her soul, her _potential_.

Yes, she would be his now, his toy in this newfound game.

He would make her _his_ witch.

* * *

_thank you to those who reviewed and added this to their story alerts because I really appreciated it! Hope you review and enjoyed this chapter!_


	3. Chapter Two

_Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one._

_― Albert Einstein_

* * *

Two

Mara resisted the urge to shriek, biting her lower lip to hold back her tongue. She literally felt like she was about to collapse and faint all over again, but then she wouldn't know what he'd do to her once she did. _Feed_ on her? He was a maniac. But then again any guy who literally bites a girl to feed on her blood would be considered manic, so it seemed to make sense to Mara. He was no Dracula, how was it that he still looked so human? There was nothing that could explain the other things, like the reason why she couldn't scream when he'd attacked her, or how he got ahead of her when he was supposedly writhing in pain while she tried to make a run for it. If he'd bitten her, wasn't the wound supposed to be fresh? It looked and felt as if it'd been there for a week already.

Had she been out cold for a week?

"Where am I...and what am I doing here?" she asked, trying to sound as meek as possible. If she rubbed him the wrong way she just might miss her chance of ever getting back home alive.

Her throat went dry when their eyes met, the manic look had disappeared from his eyes—they were now bleak windows leading to nothing. He looked like he had no soul, and it didn't matter whether the priests and her teachers in school ingrained in her the belief in souls; just by looking at him and being in his presence made her think that maybe they were all wrong.

Her captor grinned and took a step towards her, causing Mara to press herself against the window; if he decides to push her out at least she'd still have a chance of leaving. He didn't stop walking towards her, his stride effortless and silent up till the very last step. Mara felt her arm twitch, her fingers tightly clutching the drapes behind her as his face lowered down to hers. She couldn't bring herself to even think of his name as he caressed her face with his hand with so much caution. His gaze was possessive, and it disturbed her to no end.

"Relax darling, I'm not going to hurt you. You'll be safe here; I just want your cooperation." He says, his lips grazing the tip of her ear as he whispered while his hand trailed down from her neck to her collarbones, sending shivers across Mara's skin.

Mara slipped out of his grasp, pushing past him as gently as possible in hopes that he wouldn't react dangerously towards this. He didn't, he just grinned, as if he could smell the fear. She wouldn't be able to admit it, but everything about her was radiating fear and vulnerability. Her muscles relaxed and she looked up to meet her captor's gaze, seeing the amusement in his dark eyes again. "Alright I'll help you, whatever it is you need my help with! But I need to get home; I can't stand wearing this dress anymore." Mara said, crossing her arms over her chest to conceal what the dress so generously showed, not that there was actually much to be shown. Had it been this low last night?

"I'm afraid that's not possible darling, but if it bothers you so much to wear it then be my guest; you're welcome to take it off any time." He replied casually, his eyes trailing down to her dress with a slow and humoured look glinting in them.

Mara scowled, tempted to throw a punch, but he was going to hurt her if she did, and she was smart enough to know that. Calming herself, she decided to play along and obey; he was too strong for her to get past, so if she wanted to leave she'd have to be in his good graces.

Where were his siblings? Did they know he was this much of a pervert or were they actually clueless about it?

"So we're in your place?" she asks, running her palms against the smooth canvas of the painting by the bed. She studied the strokes of the artist and admired the eccentric choice of colours, how she longed to paint; ever since she'd decided to search for Uncle Tobias she'd been on her feet going from state to state without having any time to rest. Eyes moving down to the signature of the artist, Mara saw the name of her captor's brother, Klaus Mikaelson.

"Not mine exactly. A temporary habitat if I must say, my mother insists that we all remain together in Klaus' home for the time being." He replies, bored with her question.

"Impossible." Mara whispered, her finger pressed against the date written on the painting, 1854.

"My brother doesn't take kindly to people touching his artworks." She turned, her heart taking a huge leap to see that he'd barely been an inch away, his tall body leaning over hers as he stared down at her with disinterest. Her captor grinned, placing his hand on her head and slowly to her shoulder, then along her arm and to her small hands. His fingers wrapped around her hand and pulled on it, urging her to run along the lines of the painting. Mara felt nothing but terror as this happened, she didn't want him speaking to her, let alone touching her. It brought back the memories of what he'd done to her. She twisted her hand slightly, pulling her hand from his and turning to face him. He grinned, taking two steps back and then turning to the door.

"Come, I presume you're hungry. Your grumbling is starting to get to me." Mara felt her stomach, slightly embarrassed at the fact that he'd noticed.

Had her stomach been grumbling that loud? She didn't argue, but was put off that she couldn't even change out of her dress and had to walk around barefoot. They were small things to complain about, but it kept her distracted from her current situation, a prisoner.

Together they walked the more private areas of the mansion, the silence of the Mikaelson home making it feel more like a museum rather than an actual place to live and sleep in. Mara shivered, careful to be light on her feet while following her captor around the house. There was no creek or squeak made as he walked, like he was light as a feather. Her eyes shifted everywhere, unable to help but slightly admire the craftsmanship and design of the house; guests were only limited to the ground floor during the Ball. It reminded her of the Globe Theatre where William Shakespeare's plays were held, the upper floor was more extravagant and well designed than the lower one. And that was saying a lot considering that the ground floor was gorgeous.

"You're an artist." She looked up, seeing that he'd now been watching her with his dark eyes. Mara forced herself to at least twitch her mouth into a failed smile, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"No, definitely not. I'm just fairly interested in it." She replied, careful not to trip as they walked down the spiral staircases. He took her arm; she flinched at the touch, realizing that he'd been assisting her down to prevent her from falling. Mara looked at him with gratitude, hoping that he hadn't seen the annoyance that she felt burning inside of her at that moment.

"Hm. Well I suppose that explains why your hands are rough." It sounded like an insult, but she simply rolled her eyes in reply, "_Pardon_ me for my man hands." She said, pulling her hand away and rubbing her thumb against the palm of her hand to feel the texture. He laughed, opening a door for her to walk through, "Another touchy subject is it? I meant no offense darling." Mara felt like flinching again, he kept calling her darling. If not for their circumstances she'd probably blushing, but right now she just wanted to kick him _hard_.

She felt herself smile a bit at the sight of the polished granite surfaces of the dark oak counters, allowing her captor to pull a seat for her to settle on. He leaned against the counter across her, looking at her with a befuddled expression.

"What do you eat?" Mara's eyes narrowed with disbelief, leaning away from the table. He was seriously messing with her now, it was a sick game he was playing on her; did he seriously believe he was a vampire? She didn't actually mean to say it, but the stupid and condescending part of her couldn't help but speak.

"I'm not stupid to actually believe you."

His eyes darkened—his expression a cross between humour and anger.

...

Kol smirked, getting off his stool and opening a cabinet to pull out a glass for his toy to drink from. He filled it up, gently sliding it across the counter for her to take. She slightly paled, clearly nervous that he had yet to reply to her snappy comment. Taking the glass, she pressed it against her lips and drank steadily, filling the room with silence once again. Kol watched with boredom, slowly drumming his fingers against the cool surface of the table. She still wasn't convinced that he wasn't human, which was quite stupid of her really since he'd bitten her and displayed other signs of being a vampire.

The mind had a strange way of protecting itself.

"You were saying?" he asked, taking note of the sarcasm in his voice. She licked her lips and quietly placed the glass down, hesitant to meet his gaze, "I eat waffles." His toy says, biting her lower lip in such a way that she looked more like a nervous little child rather than a grown young woman. Well, by his standards at least. She was at least of marriageable age—in his time that is; most people married at twice her age now, which is rather old for a mortal in his opinion.

He let out a soft chuckle, holding his hand up and gesturing to the cabinets and freezer, "Help yourself to anything here, I'm not very familiar with how Klaus had them arranged. I don't even understand why he bothered."

Kol slips his hands into the pockets of his trousers, leaning against the wall and watching as his toy awkwardly stepped off her seat and searched through the cabinets with caution. She was slow to work, quiet and careful to not make any noise; clearly she'd taken notice of his silence. Her dress glimmered at the touch of sunlight, save for the parts covered in her blood, but Kol wasn't disturbed. He liked her silence, and was able to appreciate her physical attributes because she wasn't shooting her mouth like every other girl he's met in his 1000 years of existence.

She tripped on her dress, and then straightened up as she silently cursed under her breath. Kol watched as she cast a glance at him nervously, then pulled out an apple from the refrigerator followed by a knife and plate from the drawer to her right.

"Pass me one won't you darling." He says, grinning with pleasure when she did as he asked of her and threw the apple at him as a pass. Kol bit into the fruit, slightly cringing at the taste that once used to be his favourite as a human. He walked over to the trashcan, spitting the bits of apple in his mouth and throwing the whole fruit in with it. She was looking at him now, her eyes cautious and slightly annoyed; she began cutting the apple into slices, taking her seat once again

"For a witch you seem to be pretty harmless." Kol started, rest his chin on the palm of his hand after taking a seat across his toy. She stopped cutting, looking up at him with disbelief. "I can't seem to decide whether to be insulted at the point that you called me a witch to offend me—or that you called me harmless." She replied, her expression darkening by the minute.

His little toy was scared, yes. But she was also angry, certainly.

"Oh no, calling you a witch wasn't the insult, calling you harmless was. Although I suppose I couldn't really call you that after you hurt me last night. A witch, _darling_. You're a witch, and that explains why you're somewhat harmless as well I suppose, since you're _clearly_ not aware that you are one." Kol drawls, feeling pleased with himself for this revelation. She gritted her teeth, her jaw tensing in response. Shaking her head, his toy looked up at him and smiled.

"Funny that you say I hurt you considering that you _bit_ me and made me _bleed_ all over my dress. As for witches and vampires, that's all nonsense folklore and legends that people in the past believed because they had nothing else to believe in. Let me _leave this place_." She demanded, trying to put up a fierce expression on her small face but embarrassingly failing at it. He smiled, studying the smallest details of her face until it was almost memorized in his head. Such a wonder, for some strange reason she was beginning to look more feminine to him than last night.

"Please." It was a whisper, but Kol still heard it.

It seems that even when angry his toy did not forget her manners, what a delight. He shook his head and smiled at her, getting off his seat and making his way to the kitchen entrance. Turning, he sighed melodramatically and raised his hand to point at her, his index finger moving side to side in disagreement.

"Not until you've done your end of our deal darling." He says, then turning once more and leaving the room, "Just going up to fetch you some clothes; your dress is far too long, you're going to fall all over the place at any rate."

...

Mara placed a slice of apple to her mouth and chewed it slowly, watching as her captor left the room and made his way up the stairs and out of her sight. She carefully took the knife from the counter, grasping it tightly in her hand as she quietly hurried out of the kitchen. Trying to recall where the entrance was, Mara was careful not to trip on her dress or slip. She bit her lip in anxiety, looking to the stairs for any sign of Kol.

The door was there—closed, but she was sure that if she made it far enough to her car she'd be able to get away and call the police. Mara hurried, shuffling towards the door and twisting the knob as cautiously as possible to prevent any sound being made. She was going to be _free_, she could do it. The door opened, and her mouth twitched slightly into a smile when it happened—until she realized that it wasn't a step that separated her from her freedom, but a fair haired girl who looked a few years older than her. She was dressed in a dark green gown, accentuating her curves perfectly in each area it clung tightly to. Mara had missed the introduction of the Ball when she'd arrived, but something was telling her that this was her captor's sister. Her smiled disappeared, and she felt fear rising up inside of her again.

"I'd better go, it's a bit late isn't it?" Mara said softly, and then gently tried to push past the female Mikaelson as quickly as possible. The girl continued to block the doorway, her arm outstretched to the other side of the door.

The girl looked at her with an expression of irritation, her eyes trailing down from Mara's face to her dress. She sighed, frowning at Mara, who'd begun to feel faint with anxiety. "Hm, now which brothers decided to sleep with you tonight?" she asked, tilting her head in wonder though the tone of her voice was filled with disinterest.

Mara felt herself flushing, slightly embarrassed with the girl's impression, "None of them, excuse me—" she tried pushing past the girl again, but this time she leaned against the doorway, glaring at her. She grabbed Mara's arm, twisting it with immeasurable strength as Mara tried not to scream. Feeling the tears welling up in her eyes, Mara blinked them back, raising the knife in her hand and pressing it to the girl's neck.

"Just move and let me leave before things get worse." She said with gritted teeth, urging the knife closer to the blonde girl's neck. The girl smiled in return, grabbing Mara's other hand and taking the knife from her before breaking it in two. Mara backed away, finally realizing how unnatural this was becoming, _again_.

"I really despise being threatened in the morning." The blonde girl said, looking leisurely at her nails before glaring back at Mara again. Before she knew it, she found herself at the mercy of the female Mikaelson; she was thrown aside to the wall, wincing in pain as she felt her whole body throbbing with pain. She looked up, seeing that the girl's blue eyes had been replaced by dark red ones, dark veins protruding from her eyes in such an inhumane manner.

Fear took over Mara, her head spinning with pain as she cowered against the wall. Where was Kol? She didn't particularly expect him to do anything like stop what was happening, but suddenly the idea of vampires wasn't so unbelievable anymore, and maybe if she admitted it and begged for mercy he'd help her.

"Ah Rebekah, so nice to see that you've returned from your night out." The two girls turned, watching as Kol made his way down the stairs with some clothes carried at his side. Mara wrapped her arms around herself, tears on the verge of escaping from her eyes. Rebekah closed the door and folded her arms over her chest, looking at her brother with irritation. Kol cast his gaze on Mara, who pressed her forehead to her knees out of refusal to return the look. He sighed, stopping at the foot of the staircases.

"Nice to see that you've met my new toy sister dearest, but you know better than to damage what belongs to me." He says, and the moment Mara looked up, his form had suddenly appeared in front of Rebekah, taking on a threatening stance before his sister. She blinked, the tears finally escaping from her eyes. They were sore and so was her entire body, she just wanted to escape, and now she felt more like a trapped animal than ever.

"Seriously Kol, your _toy_ looks like a child—and the blood all over her dress? A little bit too kinky don't you think? But I _suppose_ I should commend you for not killing her." Rebekah replied with a drawl, brushing past him with nonchalance. Kol snarled, no longer watching his sister as she disappeared to her room.

...

His toy flinched, trembling as he crouched next to her and studied her with a blank expression in his eyes. Kol's eyes narrowed, noticing that bruises were beginning to emerge on her arms and back from Rebekah. "Mara." She flinches again at the mention of her name, refusing to look up at him, hugging her legs to her face even tighter. Kol rolled his eyes, not particularly appreciating how vulnerable the girl was. For a witch she was incredibly fragile.

"I did tell you that you couldn't leave yet darling, best to listen to me next time hm?" she looks up, tears staining her face as the makeup she'd been wearing from last night smeared her cheeks and made her look admittedly appalling. She was not a pretty crier, which Kol was disappointed with as well. He stood up, gently placing his hand on her arm in an effort to pull her up to her feet, she did as he wanted, and followed him up the staircases and back to the guest room he'd meant for her to occupy. She sat on the bed, trying to wipe away the traces of her tears on her face with her hands. Kol handed her the clothes, meaning for her to take it and change out of her blood drenched gown.

"I had no inclination to enter Rebekah's room—it smelled of perfumes and one of the Salvatore brothers, these were the smallest clothes I could find from my wardrobe." He says, his hands slipping back into the pockets of his pants as his eyes drifted to his toy's saddened eyes. They were cast down on the clothes on her lap, feeling the texture of the material as some kind of distraction. She was still, which was irritating Kol all over again.

"The bathroom's to your left, now hurry up and get dressed before I get bored and decide to walk in on you." this caught her attention, prompting the girl to get up and shuffle towards the bathroom door, the sound of a lock following after she closed the door. Kol snorted and shook his head with humour, as if a lock could stop him from entering the bathroom door of course. A minute or two had passed when she came peering out of the bathroom, dressed in his dark collared shirt and a heavy knit sweater that Rebekah ordered from somewhere for him to wear. He wasn't very inclined to the style, and therefore left it hanging in his closet instead.

"There are no pants." She says, sounding rather embarrassed to Kol's amusement.

"You're half my size, you don't need pants because you'd either look like a boy or they'd slip right off. If you really want to try them on be my guest, the latter of the two doesn't sound too bad to me." She flushed, seemingly annoyed with his response. His toy stepped out, his clothes large enough to be a dress for her. Before he was daggered by Klaus, he lived in times where exposing one's ankles was inappropriate, so being able to see a bit more until his toy's knees was a pleasing sight for Kol.

She wiped more of the dry tears from her face, but the makeup was now gone due to probably being washed off while she was in the bathroom. He looked at her for a few moments, causing her to slightly fidget with anxiety.

"Hm, the dress really did all the work didn't it?" She was confused, looking back at her bloodied dress in the bathroom. "You're rather _small chested_. Pity." He stated, earning a glare from his toy as she crossed her arms over her chest, "Not that it's any of your business." She snapped, brushing past him to the door. For someone terrified of him and his sister she didn't seem to be as careful with her tongue, perhaps she was that angered with him after all.

"Good to see you aren't being too much of a pet, or I'd get bored with you within a week or so." He says lightly, smiling as she stared at him with fear dancing in her eyes. She remained silent, now hesitant to look up at him as she did earlier. Irritated with her fear, Kol opened the door, gesturing for her to move towards him.

"I'd better take you to the library; we must discuss the conditions of our little situation." He led the way, not looking back to check if she followed him; the sound of her footsteps was enough confirmation, besides that she was probably too scared now that she'd seen Rebekah's nature, indirectly revealing his as well. Kol stopped before a narrow staircase, switching the lights on before continuing down the stairs.

He opened the door to the basement, turning to see the wonder in his companion's eyes as they were cast upon Klaus' book collection. "Close your mouth darling or you'll catch a fly." He said, slightly humoured by the awe written all over her face. Kol made himself comfortable on the couch, watching as his toy brushed her fingers against the spines of the aged books. Her footsteps are light against the hardwood floor, so light that the sound of her steady heartbeat was louder.

"You said that I'm a witch—but you're mistaken." She turned to him, her expression rather blank and serious. Kol smiled, sitting upright on the couch to make space for her, "What makes you think I'm mistaken?"

Swallowing down hard, the sound of her heartbeat becoming louder than it initially was, "I don't believe in witchcraft—it's unnatural and evil. It can only bring misfortune to people." she whispered, her hands curling up into tiny fists as she said this. He laughed in reply, shifting his seat to rest his elbow on his knee, "I see—Christian school girl are you? Don't tell me you wear a chastity belt as well." His toy flushed, her eyebrows furrowed in irritation.

"My religion didn't teach me that, and I don't need a chastity belt to have self control." She said with a tone of resentment, shifting to make sure Kol couldn't see up the long sweater she wore. "Ah, at least I don't have to worry about that." She scowled, saying nothing in reply. Kol had had all sorts of encounters with women in the past, and those metal clad women were always the most irritating to deal with, not that it was difficult to remove the metal.

"Besides, my school never taught us of witchcraft. It's common knowledge that witchcraft is evil."

"I wouldn't say that witchcraft is evil," he cut it, silencing his toy, "that depends on what kind you're delving in. But I suppose what makes it so evil is that you are a slave to nature—which is a taxing and _boring_ job in my opinion, you'd be worshipping the trees and ancestral spirits rather than your god. None of which I actually do." She fidgeted, clearly annoyed with the arrogance Kol seemed to be displaying. "The point is, you're a witch darling. It's in your blood. I'm quite sure you're not stupid to ignore the fact that when you request something of someone you are usually obeyed." Her eyes met his, suddenly less irritated and more surprised, "Or that you mind stunned me."

"Mind stun?"

"Self explanatory isn't it? I suppose I'm just lucky that you aren't strong—yet."

...

Mara was silent for a while, knowing well she was under the discerning eye of Kol Mikaelson; she didn't like the idea of screaming or hyperventilating in front of him, especially after he'd already seen a glimpse of her crying and trembling like a baby. He'd see how truly vulnerable she was, and slowly he'd try to push every button of hers until she'd be broken down. No, Mara wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of seeing her suffer, if she wasn't going to have her freedom—she was going to at least keep her pride.

Vampires existed—truth. She was a witch—questionable.

He'd bitten her and tasted her blood, was that enough to tell that she was one? Wouldn't he have had to taste the blood of one before hers? Mara wouldn't put it past him to do such a thing.

"You're wondering how it is I could tell you were a witch just by your blood." She looked up, seeing the boredom in her captor's eyes as he leaned his head against his fingers. Mara nodded, seeing that there was no point in denying it. He straightened up, leaning towards her with a smirk plastered on his face. She resisted the urge to back away, her heartbeat racing faster as he reached out his hand and pressed his fingers to the wound he'd given her. It was a light touch, one that sent shivers across Mara's skin. Pursing her lips, she tried to steady her breathing and muster the courage to look him straight in the eye.

"I've lived for over a thousand years darling, why live among humans when there were more superior ones to be among?" he whispered, stroking her neck slowly until she flinched at his touch not leaving.

Mara pulled away, eyes wandering around the library, her nose breathing in the musty smell that the books must have acquired over the long years of their existence.

"You want me to develop my powers by practising witchcraft."

"Yes." His dark eyes twinkle a bit as he says this, as if just the thought of her performing witchcraft was such a pleasure. It's a dark look masked with delight, one that she knows she will learn to fear because whatever it is that brings him delight couldn't be anything good for her.

"What is it you want me to cooperate with you for?" she asks, hopeful that it was something Fairy Godmother-esque like making a pumpkin into a sports car. That was highly unlikely though considering that the Mikaelson family looked wealthy enough to afford more than ten of them. It wasn't a sin to hope for the impossible though.

"Nothing." He replied, his tone nonchalant and filled with expectance when his eyebrows furrow together.

Mara froze, like her blood ran cold and all hell would freeze over. What was the whole point of him taking her here and deciding to make her some kind if pet? She wasn't a little Chihuahua that needed shelter. "Then why did you take me in the first place?" she asks, her voice beginning to tremble and crack. Mara hated being afraid, the worst part was that he could probably tell just by hearing her heartbeat—but there was only so much she could do to conceal _that_.

"I've grown tired of looking for puzzles to piece together and understand. But I suppose the spirits that those of your kind so religiously listen to have decided to ask for my help since you can't help yourself. I don't really mind though—I find that you may be one puzzle that is worth completing."

* * *

_Thank you for the reviews and alerts! I really appreciated them, I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter! If you have any suggestions or questions please feel free to ask me, reviews are love :) anyone watched TVD's latest episode? I DIED OF HAPPINESS_


	4. Chapter Three

_One's dignity may be assaulted, vandalized and cruelly mocked, but it can never be taken away unless it is surrendered. _

_― Michael J. Fox_

* * *

Three

"I'm not reading these—I'm not going to start pulling off this voodoo crap just because you tell me to." Mara said, her teeth gnashing together as she stared down at the table of books that her captor had set aside for her.

She looked up to see a humoured expression in his gaze, suddenly trying to tap in her persuasive skills and get him to listen. The corners of her lips twitched upward very slightly, forming into a hesitant smile before she spoke once more.

"Please, I can't read this Kol." she feels the urge to gag just for saying his name without the poison dripping from her tongue; it was so difficult to even speak to him like he was a normal human being who deserved a name—which he _wasn't_ and _didn't_. His eyes twinkled, and he leans over the table, his face barely five inches away from hers.

"Darling, you _do_ understand that I'm not going to fall for your weak magic don't you?"

her body goes cold as he says this, the poison prickling in her mouth begging to be released. Mara stood up, no longer seated on her chair. "I can't do this." She said, her eyes trailing towards the door. Her captor suddenly took hold of her wrist, his grip growing tighter, "Yes you can." He says firmly.

Mara cringes at the pain, suddenly feeling the fear that had been gone for less than ten minutes since being in the presence of the vampire.

"Now sit down and read the books."

It's like acid is dripping from his tongue, burning her with every word he says. She feels lightheaded, the room slowly shifting around her as her body moved against her will. There was silence, and her eyes are drinking in the diagrams and words that they come across almost automatically. The words are difficult for her to fully understand, as if there was an incompatibility between her and the magic.

This had to be proof that she wasn't a witch, there was no other explanation for it.

But if his firm belief that she was a witch was proved wrong—was he going to make her his next blood bag?

"One day you will see it my way."

...

"So where is this toy Rebekah speaks of?"

Kol looks up, seeing that Klaus had been expecting his presence in the living room for some time now. His brother grinned, watching as he plopped down onto the couch next to him and propped his legs up on the arm rest. "Now why would I introduce you to my toy? Especially after Rebekah _nearly_ broke it." Kol drawled, observing his brother for any signs of irritation.

The two had still slightly been at odds since Elijah had undaggered him and Finn, Kol couldn't help being bitter over Klaus driving the dagger through his heart a century ago. The pain he felt physically was immeasurable when the dagger pierced him, and waking up was just as painful. He still felt betrayed by what Klaus had done, but he wasn't about to let it get to him, not when he had things to do. As much as possible, he'd rather that Klaus not peer into his business.

"Now now, you know I wouldn't cause any harm to your toy brother. That's for _you_ to do." He replied, leaning against the back of his chair.

Kol smiled in return, his mind wandering to his toy, her small form hunched over the work table at the library as she read. Watching her had a tendency to bore him, mostly because he couldn't actually do anything entertaining _with_ her. And if it wasn't going to be drinking her blood, the other medium of entertainment was well off limits. Kol was too proud to even consider compelling her into accepting his advances; if he could do it he'd do it out of mere wit and charm.

"Yes, yes it is. But right now is not the time to meet her you see. Until she's well adjusted with my presence, it is best that you remain hidden from her. She had something of a breakdown when she met Rebekah yesterday." Klaus nodded, getting off his seat and shuffling towards his work table, a place that Kol noticed he must have been occupying regularly since the revelation of their mother's survival. He could pity Klaus, but he didn't.

"Hm, very well. I suggest you get to your toy then, I hear footsteps and she doesn't sound too calm. Wouldn't be too surprised if she attempted another escape don't you think?"

Kol gritted his teeth, turning away and listening in for any signs of footsteps or breathing. He sighed with exasperation, leaving the room to find the hard headed wretch.

In barely a second, he was before her, slightly caught off guard to see that she'd been carrying one of the witchcraft books with her. She'd obviously snapped out of the compulsion much to his irritation, but she didn't seem to have abandoned the books like he thought she would.

And then he realised why she'd been carrying it.

She threw the oversized book at him, but wasn't quick enough to run past him and avoid getting seized by the arm. His toy let out a whimper of pain and continued to struggle, until her hand met his face and a sharp sound emitted in the air. It wasn't painful, especially since she was almost as harmless as a fly, but the whole fact that she slapped him set Kol on edge. Only three days with her and he was already fighting off the urge to violently kill her already, but maybe that was a good thing; normally he would've killed someone like her within the first hour.

"Really darling, how many times do you expect me to remind you not to attempt escaping?" he asks, the tone of irritation ringing clearly in his voice. He didn't like having to say things twice, it wore out his patience like anything. "I won't do it! I'm not your w—"

"Quiet." Kol says, now putting more effort into compelling his toy than he previously did. She'd managed to break out of it within less than two hours, which was altogether impressive for a human but disappointing for a witch. But it gave him more time to drill in that loyalty that Klaus couldn't instil in his witch. Her powers would grow in time, and so would her loyalty and allegiance towards him.

Her lips pressed together tightly, eyes filled with rage as she stared up at him. Kol pulled her arm roughly, leading her down the hall and back to the guest room he'd chosen as her accommodations during their stay in Klaus' home. He slammed the door behind him, throwing her onto the bed he'd first laid her on the night of the Ball.

She backed away quickly, ruffling the blankets at her sudden movement. Her dark eyes flickered with fear as he glared at her, and he could hear her heart beating rapidly, her breathing tense and soft.

...

In a blink of an eye, he was too close for comfort, leaning over her until their noses brushed up against one another. Her breath hitched and her throat had gone dry, fear screaming in her mind as he pushed her back against the cushion and pinned her against the bed with his pain inducing strength.

Mara felt her lips quivering, her breathing growing heavier as she shut her eyes tight with uncertainty—she feared what she would see when she opened them. She finally sobbed, struggling under his grip as he watched her with that cruel fascinated glint in his eyes.

Her vision was blurred, and she could feel his body so closely pressed down against hers.

She'd never been touched by a boy other than shaking hands or exchanging high fives, spending five years in an all girls boarding school didn't seem to pose as much help to her in this new situation. Her body prickled with both heat and fear, pins and needles spreading all over within mere seconds.

He was going to do it—he was going to hurt her in the vilest manner possible.

"No. Let go, please don't." She sobbed out, feeling her tears trickle down from her cheeks to her neck, shivers trailing along her spine in a mocking manner.

Kol grinned, leaning in and lowering his hands to the curves of her body. They moved slowly, her leg spasms at his touch.

"You have more than one use for me, alternative ways for you to _please_ me little Mara—ways that I am certain you would not prefer over _reading books_—ways that also make you easily replaceable." He whispers, his lips lightly brushing the tip of her ear. She wanted to hurt him, to hurt him so bad that he'd only know pain. But she was too afraid, too weak, too _human_.

She hears him laugh softly under his breath, her heart beat speeding up once more. He pulls away, rolling over to her side and laying down next to her petrified body.

"I'd prefer not to kill you really. It would be such a shame to kill someone with your potential...and face. And I'd prefer that you not tell anyone or mention your weak ability for magic either. My family believes you to be human—act it. I have no intentions of allowing them to discover your nature, especially while my mother isn't here." Mara paid no intention to the little compliment he'd injected into his threat, it was a small thing that wasn't worth comparing to threatening her life or her abilities.

"I _am _human." She whispers, a tear forming at the corner of her eye.

"_That's_ the spirit darling." He exclaims cheerfully, propping himself up and leaning against his arm lazily as his eyes remained fixed on her face.

"What do you want from me?" she asked with a quivering voice, wiping her tears with the sleeve of the sweated she'd been wearing. She faced away from him, missing the shift in his expression to a dark and serious one, features hardened under the shadows cast upon his face.

"Everything."

With that said, her captor rose from the bed, effortlessly tossing the heavy occult book over to her.

Mara pursed her lips, her fingers trembling at the touch of the book.

He turned from the door, his expression remaining serious. "One week...one week Mara Hale is the amount of time I will give you to read the five books I'd chosen for you to read. And maybe then I will grant you one request in return." He says, then turning away to shut the door behind him, leaving Mara alone just as he'd done previously at the library.

Mara held the book to her chest, closing her eyes to recall the diagrams she'd studied earlier. She hated to admit it, but within the two hours she'd been reading, understanding the concepts and theorems of the book came easier and easier until she'd been more than three-fourths through with it.

"A day out. A day to be free." She whispered, wiping away the last of her tears. Mara sniffled and looked up at the ceiling, running her fingers through her short hair, "Dear God forgive me for this." She muttered, opening the book to resume her studies.

For a week Mara remained in the comforts of her room, careful to avoid speaking to her captor when he would come to visit her. They hardly spoke; he seemed to understand that she seemed to be doing it out of anger and fear rather than obedience. Occasionally he disturbed her, asking her questions about witchcraft and how far she's gone in the books, but other than that, he was quiet and often left her alone. She was fed and given clothes to wear, mostly Kol's to her dismay, but she was as close to grateful as she could get in her situation.

Darkness. Expression. Spirits.

It didn't make sense to her, yet it did. But the Latin words were difficult for her to truly understand, as if it was incompatible with her mind. By the seventh day, she'd completed the books. Her mind constantly at work like a clockwork tower whose cogs and gears shifted every millisecond of its existence, Mara barely slept. Her eyes seemed hollow at the presence of the dark circles beneath them.

It was on the seventh night that her curiosity finally took hold of her.

Mara sat up from her bed, her heart wandering to the memories of her family. She missed her mother like anything, longed for her. It was because of her mother that she came to Mystic Falls in the first place, and look where she ended up.

A week ago she wouldn't have been able to admit to even thinking of her father, who was too busy carrying his business from Europe to Asia to even bother contacting her. She couldn't seem to get her hands on a newspaper or watch television, so she wouldn't even know whether he'd been searching for her; Mara spent all her time reading on witchcraft that she could only spare a few extra minutes on bathing and eating.

Then she thought of it, magic.

It was like a great iron hand that took hold of her mind and tempted her to give it a try. She had the knowledge of it stored within her head, but she hadn't actually tried performing the magic she'd learned about. It terrified her, she'd been trying so hard to keep her emotions in check because she didn't want to stoop down to her captor's level. She didn't want to hurt anyone, she just wanted to be free and leave.

There was only one window in her room, and it had only been now that she'd realized that it was never open.

Mara neared the window, pressing her fingers to the cold glass only to realize how accustomed she'd become to the small confines of the room. She was like a pet, watched and observed by her captor whenever he pleased. Sometimes she found herself growing used to his presence, something she rarely missed when it was not there. _Rarely_. But all the more she feared him, Mara refused to become a little lapdog desperate for affection and appreciation. She wanted to feel the cool air brush against her skin; it was a small freedom she yearned for so dearly.

_Open it._ A voice whispered, it was soft, calling out to her from the back of her head in a low and seductive melody.

She could do it, innate magic was should be well within her abilities, but what then?

Would she lean against the window and stare longingly out at the world she was dying to escape to? Or would she actually attempt to leave again? Kol could easily kill her, but he needed her assistance for a reason. He made sure to keep his family away from her, which Mara couldn't quite understand as to why, but she had a good feeling it was because unlike Kol and very much like Rebekah, none of them would feel compelled to keep her alive.

Mara tried to undo the locks and lift the glass up, holding her breath so she'd be as silent as possible. Failing, she took a step back, her eyes squinted as she studied the window again. Fingers pressed to the window again, Mara breathed in through her mouth slowly and steadily, in the same manner that she tried to feel the energy coursing in her body. It was a very feint feeling, but the more she concentrated on drawing it into her mind and the centre of all that power, the more she began to realize it was expanding—like a light that was throbbing in the darkness,

She hears a slow clicking sound, the locks. Afraid to open her eyes out of the possibility that she'd only been imagining it, Mara continued to focus on the power, her mind on edge. She could feel the smooth texture of the glass sliding against her palm, but was oddly sure that she hadn't been touching it at all. Her mind was at work in a strange way, as if her power was a total different being that took solid form and had hold over the window.

Mara opened her eyes, instinctively gasping at the sight of the opened window. She didn't know whether to be happy or horrified, she did it. _She did it_.

It meant that her captor was right, she wasn't normal, she wasn't human. Suddenly she wanted to throw herself out of the window and end it there and then. There were many reasons to consider killing herself, mainly out of fear. There was a fear of having this power, a fear of allowing Kol to have claim over that power...and a fear of losing herself to that power.

The wind, she could feel it entering the room—biting at her cheeks in an excitingly painful manner that her skin had slightly forgotten.

Mara leaned towards the window, her head out of the boundaries of the room. She could leave, run away and be safe. If she was strong enough to do this, maybe she could mind stun her captor just as she did on the day he took her away. But she was scared...no matter how angry she was with him, she was more scared of how quickly he recovered from her small attack. She couldn't do it, he was too strong.

She still needed practise, yes—she'd do it one day, but not yet.

"What do you think you're doing?" Mara turned away from the window, her startled gaze falling on Kol. His expression was filled with rage, one that made her shrink away from the window and closer to the wall.

"I—I just wanted some fresh air." She replied, afraid to meet his gaze.

"How did you open it?"

Mara was silent, her teeth digging into her lower lip until it started to numb with pain. Her captor let out a sound of annoyance, shutting the window and locking it in a mere amount of seconds. He looked over to the books piled on the desk, opening them and shuffling through the pages, "Done with these are you?" he says, leaning against the desk lazily.

She nodded, surprised to see that his expression had softened to a less angered one to a more arrogant one.

Her body flinched with both fear and annoyance, but nonetheless she was slightly relieved to see the little change. Kol shrugged, turning to the door and opening it once more, "Get changed then, I suppose it'd be better for you to get some real fresh air." He says gruffly.

...

His toy looked up at him with a hopeful and timid expression in her large eyes, slightly catching Kol off guard at the lack of negativity in her gaze. She nodded, hurrying towards the wardrobe to pull out what little clothing he'd given her. He admitted to pitying the girl for the heavy and dark clothes, but he still had no intention of taking clothes from Rebekah.

The girl came out of the bathroom dressed in one of his unusually large pullover sweaters and a dark brown coat. Her legs and feet were covered by long dark socks, her form small and skinny under all the layers. Kol frowned at the sight of her paling skin and the deep circles beneath her eyes, wondering to himself whether she'd had any sleep at all. He shook his thoughts away, not particularly pleased with himself for the sudden concern. She wasn't a stray kitty that needed love and care, she was a witch who needed to be educated and trained.

"We won't be out for long, come."

The ride was silent; his toy didn't seem to think they'd be using a car to travel, as if he was actually interested in carrying her to their destination! Her gaze was fixed on what was outside, like a little puppy whose ears lowered with sadness and whimpered quietly in the background. They were closer to the destination now; the trees were growing thicker and darker, blocking out what little light was shed from the sunset.

"How is it that you can stand sunlight?" Kol turned to look at his toy, humoured by her question, he liked that she had broken the silence between them. He raised his hand and pulled the thin chain that hung around his neck, directing her attention to the tiny jewel that was embedded at the centre of the silver medallion. It glinted in spite of its dark hues; she seemed transfixed by it.

"It's called the Lapis Lazuli." He replied, tucking it back under his shirt. Her eyes strayed from him and followed in the direction they'd been driving. She tucks some stray hair behind her ear, a mannerism he'd noticed that she'd do when in silence.

"So...what happened to my car?" his toy asks, her tone hesitant and unsure. Kol smiled, taking a swerve to the left, deeper into the forest trail.

"Funny thing isn't it?—that you call it _your_ car when your scent is barely present in it hm? No need to fret though, I'd driven it into the lake so as not to have to entertain anyone who inquires about its presence in my brother's home." Her eyes widened just as her jaws clenched, the sound of her heartbeat competing with that of the car engine. There is silence again, which disturbs him because he quite liked being asked questions; it allowed him to show off his superior intellect and prowess. She begins to fiddle with her fingers, momentarily irritating Kol with their slipping sounds.

"Let's play a game shall we?" she cocks her head up at him, her gaze filled with a befuddled expression. "For every question you ask, I get to ask one as well. And if one of us is unable to conjure an answer to the given question, the winner gets to make a request." He continued, searching her face for any sign of discomfort or intrigue.

She says nothing at first, but nods slowly in agreement, not that she had any choice though. He wonders if she is still afraid of him after what he'd done the previous week, but since then she'd been a good pet—obedient and well behaved. Her behaviour was too good to a fault; it forced him to be gentler with her.

Being gentle was never his strongest suit.

"Alright since you've already started—why did you attend the Ball?" she licks her lips, eye flickering over to him with a surprised expression glinting in them. "I—I was with my uncle, we were visiting Mystic Falls for a few weeks." His toy replied, her tone barely revealing any sign of uncertainty. Kol laughed under his breath, clearly she underestimated his ability to pay close attention people, because she appeared to be unaware that he taken notice to her lack of a companion during his family's party.

"Don't bother lying darling, I know very well that you came to the party on your own. _And_ that your so called 'uncle' is a priest, clearly striking out any possibility of him being the owner of that expensive car you'd driven to the Ball." Her lips slightly part, confirming her awe at his observation, but he was only getting started on his questions.

"Oh don't be so shocked, I planned on killing you that night and wanted to gather as much information about you as possible to see whether you'd be missed once I was finished with you." his toy's expression of awe was replaced to one of hurt, her eyes lowering down to her lap in a swift motion. Kol would've pitied her at that moment, but he had no real reason to considering that he'd chosen to keep her alive rather than kill her, which in itself was something she should've been grateful for.

"My mother died over a month ago." she starts, her large eyes a warm colour of brown beneath the light that flashed over it. Kol slows the car down, stopping just by the clearing of trees that bent and curved in the same direction, a pathway that only he could take notice to.

"She'd already been on stage four cancer, but no one cared to tell me a single thing while I was away at school...not even my dad, who '_supported_' her during her failing health from all the way in Europe." There is bitterness in her tone, poison rolling off her tongue with so much power, "By the time I'd come home after withdrawing my studies in my school, she only had over a week to be with me. Maybe it was the fact that she was dying, or maybe she thought it was the right time to tell me—about Mystic Falls, her old home."

He hears her voice begin to shrink, the sound of her unsteady breathing contrasting with it.

Kol wished to tell her to get to the point, but the theatrics she was displaying was intriguing enough for him to tolerate.

"She told me about how much she loved it, living here. But that she had to leave one day and how difficult it was saying goodbye to his guy called Tobias Rowan. Back then I thought he was an old flame or something, but it'd turned out he was a childhood friend. I just don't understand why she never wrote him back. Then she'd say these cryptic things, like 'the tao' or names like 'Minah' or 'Silas'—"

Kol felt his blood run cold, the name echoing in his mind like a song that sirens used to haunt the men of the sea; he couldn't hear his toy anymore, the words were muffled and slowly fading away. For that moment, he felt a spark of fear in him. He got out of the car, walking to the side she'd been seated at to impatiently wait for her to emerge as well. She looked at him with confusion, closing the door and shifting uncomfortably at the touch of her sock covered feet against the cold soil.

Tears are in her eyes, but she is blinking them back to prevent them from escaping.

"Go on now...Silas, what did she say about Silas?" he asked hastily, leading the girl past the trees and closer to the sanctuary by the waterfall.

"Nothing...I...I don't know, she was incoherent and spoke when she wasn't strong enough to do it. They were all names, names that I couldn't piece together or associate with. I looked through the priest's letters to her, they held nothing that seemed worth giving any attention to. Until I found his first letter to her seventeen years ago, a few months before I was born. It talked about keeping me away from Mystic Falls because of these people he never specifically referred to...and-I was scared, but I had to know why my mother really left when she loved this place so much-" she trailed off, unable to say anything. He was expecting to hear more, but it seemed that she was too lost in her thoughts to even piece the words together.

"So you came here to search for your mother's old childhood friend." he sighed, taking her arm to help her down from the mossy boulder. She made a face of disgust, the crunching sound of the crisp brown leaves followed as her feet touched the ground again.

The sound of water took him in, like a trance that he couldn't shake off. He felt like he'd been taken back to the past. Kol rarely visited the waterfalls since waking up from his sleep, but a very long time ago when Mystic Falls was not even an uttered name, he'd made the sanctuary his own to retreat to as a child.

"Yeah...It took me three weeks to find him, and by the third state I'd visited I'd managed to find out that he'd be staying in Virginia for a few weeks."

"I presume you'd found him?" she nodded, crouching down by the water as he remained standing. His toy looked especially small, her form shrinking into something like that of those faeries that people used to believe in. The whole atmosphere around her seemed to change, there was no anger, or sadness. He wasn't so sure whether she was suddenly being indifferent or simply at peace.

"Just a week ago...but he'd turned me away," she says bitterly, fingers lightly touching the surface of the water, "I'd found the place he was staying at, and I'd managed to ask him a few questions about my mother leaving Mystic Falls, but they'd all gone unanswered. He seemed so anxious, he didn't want to even speak to me. So I'd snuck into his place while he was out and found the invitation to the Mikaelson Ball, he had no intention of attending it...but I thought it meant getting information on my mom."

Kol smiled, pulling her up to stand from where she sat. Her eyes were filled with hesitance and sadness, she was afraid to continue to the part where he came in and took her away from her little mission and made her his property.

"Yes well, we all know how that turned out don't we?" he replied, looking down at her with a humoured expression on his face.

She glared at him, lips curved downward in a frown.

What she said about her mother mentioning Silas gnawed at him to no end, he had to know. His toy's peculiar situation was just another thing to add to his curiosities.

He looked down at his toy, his hand tracing along her jawline and down to her neck. Her skin was soft and warm, something he quite liked about his toy. His fingers curled to her hair, feeling its thin texture. She shivered slightly, eyes wandering back to the waterfall as she gazed in silence.

Kol knew she hated him, but he knew she'd soften eventually; there was only so much a girl could do to resist his charm after all.

"I have a proposition darling, one I think you wouldn't be able to refuse."

* * *

_so sorry for the late post! I'd been experiencing a bad writer's block then my laptop's charger broke so I couldn't have access to the darn thing._

_Hope you enjoyed this chapter and review! The next chapter is one that I find to be quite interesting in terms of Kol and Mara's situation._


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